Songs About Success
Notorious B.I.G., "Juicy," Rap/Hip Hop, 1994 *explicit*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNPIOi2LiQk
Billy Joel, "Uptown Girl," Pop/Rock, 1983
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCuMWrfXG4E
Drake ft. TI and Swizz Beatz, "Fancy," Rap/Hip Hop, 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjpNI4MgCK8&feature=fvwrel
Snoop Dogg, "Gin N' Juice," Rap, 1995 *explicit*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6TUhx2wX0M
Pink Floyd, "Money," Progressive Rock, 1973
Songs About Liberation
Bob Marley, "Redemption Song," Reggae, 1980
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yXRGdZdonM
John Mayer, "Who Says," Pop/Rock, 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akvu1AOnUIw
Lynard Skynard, "Freebird," Southern Rock, 1973
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np0solnL1XY
Tom Petty, "Free Fallin'," Rock, 1989
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gqT6En2O78
311, "Speak Easy," Reggae/Rock, 2005
In the last assignment involving pleasure and community service, there was clearly an aim more prevalent. However this time around, I found the aims success and liberation to be fairly equal. It became clear to me that the aims were separated by different genres. Songs about success were easy to find in the pop, hip hop, and rap genres; whereas songs about liberation were much easier to find in the rock and reggae genres. It's interesting how drastically the different genres are when it comes to what their lyrics are written about. Pop, hip hop, and rap are more mainstream, probably because Americans enjoy singing along to songs about success and pleasure rather than liberation and community service. I think it comes down to the fact that, in general, our society is greedy and materialistic. So while neither aim was more prevalent over the other, I was able to find a trend in the aims and music genres.
The Hindu understanding of success was very limited. One could only be successful within their class, which for those other than priests was not saying much. It was impossible for a servant to find success or wealth as a priest. Americans, however, have more opportunity for success because we are all "equal".
Liberation was the ultimate goal in Hinduism. Hindus strived for moksha, which was liberation from samsara. Liberation had more importance in Hindu society than it does now in American society. America is the "land of the free" and while there are still Americans fighting for liberation from certain policies, it doesn't have the same significance that it did in Hindu society. I think it's safe to assume that success and wealth play a larger role in American society today, and liberation played a bigger role in Hinduism.
I found that there were an equal number of songs about worldly success and liberation, too. It was interesting how you pointed out that the songs that discussed success and liberation came from different genres. I didn’t think about that at all.
ReplyDeletei have to disagree that success and liberation come from different genres. i believe there are plenty of liberation songs that come from the hip hop genre. They may not be as pleasant and catchy to listen to but there are many liberation songs that talk about the hardships of life and the stories and obstacles they have been through. As for success, i do agree that many of them come from the hip hop genre because they start out as liberation songs and turn into success songs... if that makes sense. they are liberated from their hardships and work themselves into success.
ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting that you mentioned the differences between the music genres. I think that this is true to a certain extent, but also not so clear cut. I think what is considered "liberation" varies by genre; reggae music may focus on liberation from oppression while rap music may focus on liberation from poverty. I must disagree that Americans are greedy and materialistic in general, because I do not think that is a fair assumption to make. The people in the entertainment industry are not the same as everyday Americans. The "performers" are seeking a lifestlye that puts them in the category of rich and famous, but most Americans do not fall into such a category. We don't judge the Hindus in India by their music, which typically is about pleasure and success as well, so why should we judge the Americans by their music?
ReplyDeleteI am not saying that the hip hop genre doesn't have songs about liberation and the reggae genre doesn't have songs about success, but that it was EASIER for me to find songs about success and liberation under specific genres. I personally found it to be a trend, that is all. Sorry if you misunderstood, but I'm not judging anyone. I do believe America in general is materialistic. When I say "materialistic" I'm not necessarily referring to having the newest model BMW or the most expensive MAC notebook. I'm referring to it in a simpler sense, like caring what store you purchase your clothes at. No, not all Americans are materialistic so don't assume I'm judging you personally, it's just a generalization.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree as well that success was very prevalant in Hip Hop songs, although thats not all that Hip Hop is about. Because the genre is slightly changing I found that many hip hop songs from the 90s and early 2000s were about success, wealth and fame. But it's catchy, and what society is interested in listening too.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the fact that different genres do seem to generally have trends in what the songs are about. I found that a majorty of hip hop songs talked about success and pleasure but there are indeed some that talk about becoming 'liberated' from their life of poverty.I also feel that success and liberation that Hinduism is talking about is very different from the songs that we listen to and the definition of it is so vastly differnt. Great song choices!
ReplyDelete